Advisory Board Meeting:
Monday, March 9, 2026, 1:00 PM

1. Call to Order
2. Establish Quorum
3. Meeting Minutes
   1. Presentation and approval of Meeting Minutes, February 9, 2026 (Consent)
4. Public Comment
5. People First Spotlight: Special Populations
6. Superintendent’s Report
   1. New Administrators
   2. New Partnerships
   3. Raider Nation
   4. Lottery for Fall 2026
   5. Graduation Spring 2026-2030
7. SB 11 (Information and Discussion)
8. Policy EHDC (Local) - Alternative Methods for Earning Credit: Credit by Examination Without Prior Instruction - Final Reading (Information and Discussion)
9. Advisory Board Meeting Schedule 2026-27 (Information and Discussion)
10. Adjourn

Call to Order:

• Superintendent Robert Bayard called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m.
• Quorum established; majority of board members present.

Board Members Present:

• Shawn Mason
• Cameron Brown
• Margaret Leifeste

Consent Items:

• Minutes from the February 9, 2026 meeting were reviewed and approved by the advisory board.
• No public comment.

People First Spotlight: Special Populations

Paige Barnes introduced her team and their roles in the Special Population’s department. She explained that their role is to ensure that all Texas Tech K-12 students, regardless of background or ability, have access to high-quality education. They support students with disabilities identified through Special Education, 504, Emergent Bilingual, Gifted and Talented, HB 1416 and At-Risk populations. They currently serve 689 students, which is 53% of the Texas Tech K-12 population. She talked about the many tools that they use on a daily basis to help them with their students. They also successfully completed a TEA audit and were recognized for maintaining high standards of compliance across Special Education programming and state reporting requirements. As well as being recognized for clear processes that support accurate documentation, accountability, and student-centered services in an online learning environment.

Superintendent’s Report

• Mission and Vision: Dr. Bayard reviewed the school’s mission and vision to reaffirm goals and ensure alignment with current initiatives.
• New Administrators: Dr. Bayard introduced our two new Assistant Principals, Eric Yeager and Lauren Hickman. Both Eric and Lauren introduced themselves and told everyone where they came from.
• New Partnerships: Dr. Bayard talked about our new partnership with Clear Creek ISD (Clear Tech) and how they are expecting over 300 students to participate. He also talked about the potential partnerships with Canyon ISD, Lubbock-Cooper ISD, La Porte ISD, Deer Park ISD, Brazosport ISD and Pearland ISD. He talked about his upcoming visits with each of them and his excitement about these new partnerships and the impact that it will bring to Texas Tech K-12.
• Raider Nation: Cari talked about this upcoming event and how we are almost at max capacity. She invited all of the board members to come and join them for lunch that day.
• Lottery for Fall 2026: Dr. Bayard mentioned that it has been moved up to April 30th because of the difficulty in trying to get documents from the school districts during their summer break in June and July. This will allow the ability to get the students scheduled in their courses in a timely manner.
• Graduation Spring 2026-2030: Dr. Bayard invited the board members to our Graduation which will be held on May 15th. He also mentioned that we will be changing venues beginning in 2027.

SB 11 (Information and Discussion)

Dr. Bayard talked about the new Senate Bill 11 and how it states that school districts are required to take a vote on whether they will adopt a policy or not to allow prayer for staff and students during a class period. Texas Tech K-12 chose not to take a vote because as an asynchronous school; we do not have class periods, and both students and teachers are remote and therefore have the ability to pray whenever they would like to. Also, our district has a non-governing Advisory Board that doesn’t take recorded votes.

Policy EHDC (Local) - Alternative Methods for Earning Credit: Credit by Examination Without Prior Instruction - Final Reading (Information and Discussion)

Dr. Bayard explained how he added a statement in the fourth paragraph that talks about teacher recommendations as to the readiness the student may or may not have to accel to the next grade based on recommendations from the Advisory Board. This statement does not stop a student from accelerating, but it at least gives us the chance to discuss our concerns. Parents can still send their students through to the next grade level. The Policy was approved by the board and will be effective March 9, 2026.

Advisory Board Meeting Schedule 2026-27 (Information and Discussion)

Dr. Bayard requested that board members consider continuing their service on the advisory board and asked that anyone who chooses not to remain notify him. Then the board was asked whether they preferred to hold meetings monthly or every other month. All present board members wanted to maintain a monthly meeting schedule.

Adjourned:

1:58 p.m.

Next Meeting:

The next meeting will be on May 11, 2026.